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Articles related to foreclosures and California foreclosure laws
Governor Jerry Brown Turns Robber Baron with Foreclosure Settlement
A few months ago, the State of California agreed to participate in settlement with the nation’s five largest home lenders over their foreclosure procedures. California Attorney General Kamala Harris had walked away from the settlement discussions several months earlier. She only agreed to return to them when the banks agreed to pay more money to California residents who had been impacted by their procedures. In the final agreement, the banks agreed to allocate $410 million which was to be used to compensate those who lost their homes through foreclosures that used illegal procedures. But now Gov. Brown has decided that he wants to use that money for other purposes. Specifically, to plug some holes in the state’s $16 Billion deficit.
California was key to the bank settlement. The state has the largest overall number Read the rest of this entry »
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Federal Court Breaths New Life into MERS
A federal circuit court has set aside a Bankruptcy Court ruling from last year that declared MERS business model illegal. The ruling breathes new life into MERS – the system used by the banks to sell off mortgages. But the ruling doesn’t prevent further review of MERS. The court simply said that the judge overseeing the bankruptcy case didn’t have the authority to issue a ruling on MERS.
There are actually three cases in play. They are known as the “Agard” cases – referring to Ferrel L. Agard; the person who was being foreclosed upon.
Last year, at the insistence of Read the rest of this entry »
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There May Be a Sea Change In Foreclosure Law Coming
It is really amazing that nobody in the mainstream media seems to be following this story, but between now and April 15th, there may be a seismic shift in foreclosure law that will impact the entire country. In February of 2011, a federal bankruptcy judge in New York ruled that MERS – the system used by banks and investors to assign rights associated with mortgages – business practices are completely illegal. If the ruling is upheld – and a decision is due soon – banks and investors will be facing a nightmare scenario in which their investments in mortgage backed securities could be worthless, and a good number of lenders will likely line up at the federal tough for another bail out. But the only press the story is getting seems to be due to an article run in the Huffington Post more than one year ago.
In that HuffPo article, the author gave a brief but very good explanation of MERS business model and why it is illegal. I’m not going to rehash that here. If you want the details – and I do advise that you get them – go ahead and read the original piece.
The judge hearing the case – US Bankruptcy Judge Read the rest of this entry »
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Housing Speculators Will Now Be Eligible for Federal Bailout Money… Huh?
Just when you thought real estate markets couldn’t get any stranger, the federal government is about to do something that is downright crazy. And if you are one of the millions of homeowners currently under water on your mortgage and have been unable to get your lender to agree to a loan modification, what the feds are doing isn’t likely to make you too happy.
Several years ago, one of the things that led to the real estate boom was all of the speculation that went on in the market. In short, a lot of people made a lot of money by purchasing houses that they couldn’t really afford, with no money down, and then either renting them or flipping out of them at wildly inflated prices. Then came 2007.
When the market finally crashed, there were a lot of these speculators that were left holding the bag. A lot of them simply walked away from their investments. And many of those who were renting their properties out managed to stretch out the foreclosure or short sale process for a year or more, without paying their mortgage, but still collecting the rent on the properties. Just ask anyone who has been involved in selling real estate for a while and they have seen this type of behavior.
Well, now the feds have decided that any speculators who have managed to hold onto their investments should also qualify for up to four federally subsidized loan modifications per speculator. So even if you have been the good little do-be who has been paying their mortgage payment on time, and swimming like mad to keep your head above water, you may have to get in line behind those who played a large role in the run-up in housing values and ultimately, their collapse.
But that’s not the best part. The best part is that taxpayers… all taxpayers… will be footing the bill for this newly created mess. So, whether you are a conservative pundit, or you hang with the Occupy Wall Street croud, there is something in this announcement for everyone to hate. That is, of course, unless you are a speculator yourself.
These loan modifications will be handled under the HAMP program.
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FHFA Wants You To Become a Distressed Property Slumlord
Got a few hundred thousand dollars burning a hole in your pocket but don’t have any idea what to do with it? Well the Federal Housing Finance Administration has a deal for you. Just buy a few homes in a blight stricken area and rent them out! Even better, when you purchase the homes, the government will get to decide when you can actually convert them back into… well… non-rental property. Seriously! And there are homes available in what the FHFA is calling “Los Angeles/Riverside”.
Not really sure what to make of this program. It definitely has both up and downsides.
The FHFA is going to make about 2,500 properties available nationwide for the program. Most of the homes Read the rest of this entry »
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